Victory V30 questions

Beef_Steak94

Hi all,

I recently bought a Victory V30 from a very nice gentlemen. I have a couple of questions as I do not have any prior experience with Victory amps. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

1) When I plug an effects pedal into the effects loop, there is a "thud" every time I click the pedal on and off. May I know why this is happening?

2) There is a slight hum/buzz/hiss when the amp is on. Is this normal for all Victory amps?
Just to clarify, the hum is from the head itself and not the speaker. You have to be really close to hear it.

Thank you very much in advance for the help.

Cheers,

Keith

Vaiai

Had my V30 about 18 months, used with pedals and with multi FX in 4CM and never had either of those issues

Beef_Steak94

Vaiai said:

Had my V30 about 18 months, used with pedals and with multi FX in 4CM and never had either of those issues

Hi. Thank you for the reply. Do you have any idea what can I do to improve the situation?

Vaiai

Hop on here - there are Victory staff, Andertons guys and other owners who will help - the Victory customer service is always being praised too
https://www.facebook.com/groups/508554529270876/

photek

Are you powering your effects pedals that go through the FX loop on the same power supply as the ones going in the front of the amp?

Beef_Steak94

photek said:

Are you powering your effects pedals that go through the FX loop on the same power supply as the ones going in the front of the amp?

Hi Photek,

Thanks for the reply. No the pedal is powered by a 9V battery. I have tried the TC HOF and the TC Flashback. Both have the same issue. Changed cables too. I tried the pedals with my HT-5 and it does not pop. 

Beef_Steak94

Vaiai said:

Hop on here - there are Victory staff, Andertons guys and other owners who will help - the Victory customer service is always being praised too
https://www.facebook.com/groups/508554529270876/

Hi Vaiai,

I do not want to post there first as the seller is in the group. Might not seem very nice. He is a great person, so I am looking for an easy fix to put this episode to rest.

Beef_Steak94

I did a couple more experiments with regards to the pedal problem.

I connected the TC Flashback and TC Hall of Fame(HOF) next to each other in this chain

Efx send --> TC Flashback --> TC HOF --> Efx return

I turned on the TC HOF and there was a pop. However when I turned on the Flashback (while the HOF was still on), the pop became a very minute click. 

The pop also increases in volume when I increase the master volume on the amp and disappears on standby.

I read something about a DC leak and something to do with buffered bypass. However, I am not sure and hopefully this additional info might help.

steamabacus

Does the Victory have a valve-driven fx loop? I'm no techie but, as I understand it, some valve faults (something to do with 'dc leakage') can cause popping with true bypass switches. An easy way to find out would be to open up the back of the tc pedals and flip the internal switch to 'buffered bypass' and see if that fixes the problem. It may be that a valve change is in order.

As to the mechanical 'hum' - transformers can exhibit this. I have a rack reverb unit that hums slightly which is emphasised when it's rested onto a hard tabletop (I have it sat on a piece of acoustic foam). I would check all the casing screws on the Victory are tight - if slightly loose, the casing may be accentuating the vibration noise.

Beef_Steak94

steamabacus said:

Does the Victory have a valve-driven fx loop? I'm no techie but, as I understand it, some valve faults (something to do with 'dc leakage') can cause popping with true bypass switches. An easy way to find out would be to open up the back of the tc pedals and flip the internal switch to 'buffered bypass' and see if that fixes the problem. It may be that a valve change is in order.

As to the mechanical 'hum' - transformers can exhibit this. I have a rack reverb unit that hums slightly which is emphasised when it's rested onto a hard tabletop (I have it sat on a piece of acoustic foam). I would check all the casing screws on the Victory are tight - if slightly loose, the casing may be accentuating the vibration noise.

Hi,

Thank you for the reply. I would try that soon. I have no idea if it has a valve-driven fx loop. I am probably less technologically inclined. The amp is however less than a year old, seems strange to have to change the tubes.

steamabacus

Beef_Steak94 said:

steamabacus said:

Does the Victory have a valve-driven fx loop? I'm no techie but, as I understand it, some valve faults (something to do with 'dc leakage') can cause popping with true bypass switches. An easy way to find out would be to open up the back of the tc pedals and flip the internal switch to 'buffered bypass' and see if that fixes the problem. It may be that a valve change is in order.

As to the mechanical 'hum' - transformers can exhibit this. I have a rack reverb unit that hums slightly which is emphasised when it's rested onto a hard tabletop (I have it sat on a piece of acoustic foam). I would check all the casing screws on the Victory are tight - if slightly loose, the casing may be accentuating the vibration noise.

Hi,

Thank you for the reply. I would try that soon. I have no idea if it has a valve-driven fx loop. I am probably less technologically inclined. The amp is however less than a year old, seems strange to have to change the tubes.

Valves can fail at any time really, especially if the amp has been transported, posted, etc. It's why you'll find amp manufacturers' warranties will exclude valves.

Beef_Steak94

steamabacus said:

Beef_Steak94 said:

steamabacus said:

Does the Victory have a valve-driven fx loop? I'm no techie but, as I understand it, some valve faults (something to do with 'dc leakage') can cause popping with true bypass switches. An easy way to find out would be to open up the back of the tc pedals and flip the internal switch to 'buffered bypass' and see if that fixes the problem. It may be that a valve change is in order.

As to the mechanical 'hum' - transformers can exhibit this. I have a rack reverb unit that hums slightly which is emphasised when it's rested onto a hard tabletop (I have it sat on a piece of acoustic foam). I would check all the casing screws on the Victory are tight - if slightly loose, the casing may be accentuating the vibration noise.

Hi,

Thank you for the reply. I would try that soon. I have no idea if it has a valve-driven fx loop. I am probably less technologically inclined. The amp is however less than a year old, seems strange to have to change the tubes.

Valves can fail at any time really, especially if the amp has been transported, posted, etc. It's why you'll find amp manufacturers' warranties will exclude valves.

Ah, that makes sense. I would be in talks with the seller of returning for a refund as changing all these valves and potential servicing needed would cost me a bomb. 

steamabacus

Don't get too worried without finding out first exactly what is up. Even if there is a valve issue, it may be curable by simply swapping the positions of two of the preamp valves. Certainly wouldn't involve changing all the valves.

Valve amps aren't as fragile as they are sometimes made out to be. But, at the same time, valves are replaceable parts that do wear (particularly power valves). Welcome to the wonderful world of 50s technology.


First, you need to know if there is anything inherently wrong with the amp or whether it's a minor problem.

I'll put up the bat signal for @ICBM ; (hopefully he won't mind) who will be able to give you some technologically sound advice on how to go about working out what is happening.

Beef_Steak94

steamabacus said:

Don't get too worried without finding out first exactly what is up. Even if there is a valve issue, it may be curable by simply swapping the positions of two of the preamp valves. Certainly wouldn't involve changing all the valves.

Valve amps aren't as fragile as they are sometimes made out to be. But, at the same time, valves are replaceable parts that do wear (particularly power valves). Welcome to the wonderful world of 50s technology.


First, you need to know if there is anything inherently wrong with the amp or whether it's a minor problem.

I'll put up the bat signal for @ICBM ; (hopefully he won't mind) who will be able to give you some technologically sound advice on how to go about working out what is happening.

Thank you very much for the advise. I have emailed Victory Amps as well. The more input the better. Hopefully it works out well

ICBM

I don't mind at all, but I know nothing about Victory amps unfortunately.

Popping when turning mechanically-switched pedals on and off is usually caused by a DC leak, yes - if the Blackstar amp doesn't do it it sounds like the problem is the Victory, rather than the pedals. If the FX loop is valve-driven (or returned), try changing those valves. Or alternatively, set the pedals to buffered bypass if that's an option - it's better anyway. If not, you could use a buffered loop pedal like the Boss LS-2 to put the affected pedals in.

Some slight physical noise from transformers is normal and not usually a sign of problems - some do it, some don't. It can sometimes be fixed by loosening the mounting bolts and retightening them (allowing the transformer to flex a bit), but if not and the problem is coming from inside the transformer there's usually nothing you can do about it other than replace the transformer.

Beef_Steak94

ICBM said:

I don't mind at all, but I know nothing about Victory amps unfortunately.

Popping when turning mechanically-switched pedals on and off is usually caused by a DC leak, yes - if the Blackstar amp doesn't do it it sounds like the problem is the Victory, rather than the pedals. If the FX loop is valve-driven (or returned), try changing those valves. Or alternatively, set the pedals to buffered bypass if that's an option - it's better anyway. If not, you could use a buffered loop pedal like the Boss LS-2 to put the affected pedals in.

Some slight physical noise from transformers is normal and not usually a sign of problems - some do it, some don't. It can sometimes be fixed by loosening the mounting bolts and retightening them (allowing the transformer to flex a bit), but if not and the problem is coming from inside the transformer there's usually nothing you can do about it other than replace the transformer.

Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply. When you mention changing the valves, do you mean I should buy a new set of valves? I will try the buffered option later and report back.

Cheers,

Keith

photek

I wouldn't have thought it was the pedal at fault, I say that because the HOF mini I had in my V40 loop was silent.

Beef_Steak94

photek said:

I wouldn't have thought it was the pedal at fault, I say that because the HOF mini I had in my V40 loop was silent.

Quick update, Victory suggested that the V3 12AX7 might be drawing too much power and they have asked if I would like to send it in to get checked.